German officer accused of spying in Russia's favor, trial against him begins

The NRW board has begun trial against a German Army reserve officer. He's allegedly been giving intelligence to the Russians for years. The 65-year-old must respond to the Regional High Court of Dusseldorf, where he is accused of spying.

According to the federal prosecutor, the reserve officer from the country, Erkrath, has given Russian secret service GRU information on German reserve and civil-military co-operation in crisis situations between 2014 and 2020. It is also the effects of sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014, as well as the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea.

Private Contacts

In addition, the accused is said to have given the Russians details of private contacts to senior members of Bundeswhir and business representatives. The US security and defence policy and its Western allies is another issue mentioned. According to the indictment, documents and information have come in part from public sources, but also from non-public sources.

In the Bundeswehri reserve, the lieutenant colonel was in a circuit liaison command as deputy head. In two informative conversations, he has largely admitted to providing information, said a court spokeswoman, when asked by the DPA. The federal prosecutor's office suspects Russia as motive for sympathy. In the investigation so far, there's no record of paying money to services. But the accused had hoped for such advantages as invitations to security conferences in Russia. There have been such invitations.

Subscription by “military”

As noted in the 107-page indictment, the military counterintelligence service (MAD) was informed of the reserve officer in 2018. According to Der Spiegel, he was recruited by two secret service employees who were officially military attachés at the Russian Embassy.

The court has scheduled 20 days of hearings on the case until mid-December 2022. / DW